In this guide, we’ll break down the differences between Smithing Stones and Somber Smithing Stones and cover where to find them. We’ll also explain how to buy Smithing Stones and the best places to farm them, so that you’ve always got plenty stored in your inventory. Throughout this guide, we will mention many locations and NPCs that you may not have met. If you want to explore the main regions of Elden Ring, follow our main quest walkthrough to find an easy guide through the Lands Between. If you want to know more about the various NPCs you find, check out our Elden Ring sidequest guide. On this page:
Elden Ring Smithing Stones Elden Ring Somber Smithing Stones Elden Ring Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones
Elden Ring Smithing Stones
Regular Smithing Stones in Elden Ring come in a range of tiers, from 1 to 8. Each tier of Smithing Stone will upgrade your weapons up to a certain level: for instance, Tier 1 Smithing Stones can upgrade a weapon from +0 to +3, whereas Tier 8 Smithing Stones can upgrade a weapon from +21 to +24. Most weapons will cap at +25, which requires an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. Special weapons and legendary armaments require Somber Smithing Stones, which we’ll cover later in this guide. You can upgrade regular weapons by a few levels at an anvil in the Church of Elleh, but you’ll need to head to an actual blacksmith to upgrade weapons further. There are two blacksmiths in Elden Ring: Smithing Master Hewg, located in the Roundtable Hold, and Smithing Master Iji, found South of Caria Manor near the Kingsrealm Ruins. Beware that Iji will move to the Three Sisters upon starting Ranni’s questline in Elden Ring, but he will still be able to upgrade your weapons.
How to buy Smithing Stones: Bell Bearing locations
As you progress through Elden Ring, you’ll find Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearings. You can give these items to the Twin Maiden Husks in the Roundtable Hold, which will then allow you to purchase Smithing Stones. We’ll explain how to get each Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing below:
Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (1): Allows you to purchase Smithing Stones (1) & (2). Obtained by killing the Crystalian boss in Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel. Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (2): Allows you to purchase Smithing Stones (3) & (4). Found in the Sealed Tunnel, on the Capital Outskirts in the Altus Plateau. Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (3): Allows you to purchase Smithing Stones (5) & (6). Found in a cellar in the Zamor Ruins, located in the Mountaintops of the Giants region. Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (4): Allows you to purchase Smithing Stones (7) & (8). Obtained by killing the Godskin Duo main boss in Crumbling Farum Azula.
The table below shows the costs of each Smithing Stone at the Twin-Maiden Husks and the upgrades you will get from each tier:
Smithing Stone farming locations
You can find regular Smithing Stones in various mining caves throughout the Lands Between. The Smithing Stones found on the walls of these caves will not respawn, but those dropped by the enemies within are unlimited. This means you can farm Smithing Stones in Elden Ring. Since enemies that drop Smithing Stones can respawn, you can farm them if you know where to go. Below, we’ll list where to farm Smithing Stones in Elden Ring:
Smithing Stones (1) & (2): Dropped by Miners in Limgrave Tunnels, located along the Northern edge of Agheel Lake in Limgrave. Smithing Stones (3) & (4): Dropped by Soldiers and Miners in Gael Tunnel, which connects Limgrave and Caelid. Smithing Stone (5): Dropped by Imps in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds beneath Leyndell, Royal Capital. Smithing Stone (6) & (8): Dropped by Miners in the Yelough Anix Tunnel, Consecrated Snowfield. Smithing Stone (7): Dropped by Haligtree Soldiers at Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
Smithing Stones (5) and higher are rare drops, but you can increase the likelihood of finding them by raising your Arcane stat or using the Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot item. To farm Smithing Stone (6) and above, you’ll need to reach the Consecrated Snowfield. You can learn how to reach this area using our guide on how to find and defeat Malenia, Blade of Miquella.
Elden Ring Somber Smithing Stones
Somber Smithing Stones allow you to upgrade special weapons, as mentioned earlier. These are usually the best weapons in Elden Ring, so you’ll need a lot of Somber Smithing Stones if you want to beat some of Elden Ring’s hardest bosses. Somber Smithing Stones function a little differently from the regular type. Somber Smithing Stones range from tiers 1-9. Somber Smithing Stones (1) will upgrade your special armaments to +1, Somber Smithing Stones (2) to +2, and so on up to +9. Special armaments cap at +10, which requires a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
How to buy Somber Smithing Stones: Bell Bearing locations
Though Somber Smithing Stones are rarer, you can still buy them using Bell Bearings. However, you’ll need to find Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearings, which we’ll cover below:
Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (1): Allows you to purchase Somber Smithing Stones (1) & (2). Obtained by killing the Fallingstar Beast in Sellia Crystal Tunnel, Caelid. Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (2): Allows you to purchase Somber Smithing Stones (3) & (4). Obtained by defeating the Crystalian bosses at the end of the Altus Tunnel in the Altus Plateau. Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (3): Allows you to purchase Somber Smithing Stones (5) & (6). Located at the First Church of Marika, found on the Southern edge of the Freezing Lake in the Mountaintops of the Giants region. Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (4): Allows you to purchase Somber Smithing Stones (7) & (8). Located at the Tempest-Facing Balcony, an area in Crumbling Farum Azula. Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (5): Allows you to purchase Somber Smithing Stone (9). Also located in Crumbling Farum Azula, in a building below the Beside the Great Bridge Site of Grace.
Below, you can find the cost of every Somber Smithing Stone at the Twin-Maiden Husks and the upgrade attained from each Somber Smithing Stone tier:
Somber Smithing Stone farming locations
Like the regular Smithing Stone Bell Bearings, the Somberstone versions are usually found in late-game areas and you might need some Somber Smithing Stones earlier in your adventure. Though they drop very rarely, you are able to farm or retrieve some of the lower-level Somber Smithing Stones earlier in the game. Below, we’ll explain where to farm Somber Smithing Stones in Elden Ring:
Somber Smithing Stones (1) & (2): This isn’t technically farming, since you don’t need to kill anything, but you can purchase infinite Somber Smithing Stones (1) & (2) from Smithing Master Iji at the Kingsrealm Ruins. Somber Smithing Stones (3), (4), and (5): Rarely dropped by the Glintstone Miners in Sellia Crystal Tunnel, a mine found northwest of Sellia, Town of Sorcery.
It seems that you can’t farm Somber Smithing Stones (6) and above at this time, but you will find them as loot in late-game areas. If you want to get unlimited amounts, you’ll need to find the Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearings as mentioned above.
Elden Ring Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones
Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones are the highest tier Smithing Stone, allowing you to upgrade your regular weapons to +25. Likewise, Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones let you upgrade special weapons to +10, which is the maximum level for unique and legendary armaments. Since these are the best Smithing Stones in Elden Ring, they are incredibly limited and difficult to find. This means you should be cautious about which weapons you choose to upgrade. Once you run out, you’ll need to start a New Game+ to continue upgrading weapons to the max level.
Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone locations
Below, we will list where to find all 13 Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones in Elden Ring:
Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone locations
Below, we will cover where to get all 8 Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones in Elden Ring: That’s everything you need to know about Smithing Stones in Elden Ring. After upgrading your weapons, test them out on the nearest boss using our Elden Ring boss locations guide. To make your character even stronger, take a look at our lists of the best armor sets and best builds in Elden Ring.
